Blizzard set to debut “something new” at PAX East

New title isn't a sequel or expansion, could be long-planned Dota-style game.

Given the frequency (or lack thereof) with which Blizzard releases new games and the general critical and fan acclaim those games receive, it counts as reasonably important news when the company merely announces that they're ready to announce a new game in the near future. And Blizzard has done just that, teasing press with word of a new game announcement they're preparing for Boston's Penny Arcade Expo East next month.

"We've been working on a little something, different from our other games, and we're pleased to invite you to be the first to see it," the company wrote in its e-mailed note. "It's not a sequel, expansion or that rumored next-gen MMO, but it's something we're excited for you to get your hands on."

Considering that every single game Blizzard has released since 1998 has had either the word Warcraft, Starcraft, or Diablo in its title, the promise that this new announcement isn't a sequel or expansion is particularly noteworthy. The company also seems to be ruling out an official announcement of the long-teased MMO codenamed Titan, further piquing our curiosity.

While Blizzard is obviously keeping quiet until the official March 22 unveiling, current rumors suggest the company may be getting ready to unveil Blizzard All-Stars, a multiplayer online battle arena game. That game was first unveiled back at Blizzcon 2010 as a Starcraft II custom map, but it eventually morphed into its own standalone game project inside Blizzard. You may also remember this as the game that was called Blizzard Dota before Valve won the rights to use the Dota name in game titles as part of a legal settlement.

Is the game finally ready for a proper unveiling now? Well, StarCraft II Production Director Chris Sigaty told Eurogamer last month that Blizzard All-Stars was still in active development and that the company is working on integrating a smart free-to-play business model into the design. The official website for the game just says that it's "coming soonish," which isn't much help.

Whatever Blizzard has planned, we'll bring you word as soon as we get it straight from the PAX East show floor.

It better be earth shattering, because blizzard has pretty effectively destroyed the loyalty customers were hanging on to by announcing Diablo PS3.

People who are upset a game is getting released on a console are idiots.

A Blizzard DOTA game was anounced a few years back but having it be a Starcraft 2 addon was scrapped because it wouldn't be a competitive game for that genre and has been reworked as its own game. So it might be that, or something completely different. I'm hoping for MoP Pet Battles mobile edition.

Really sad 5 years ago this would have had me salivating but blizzard went from my absolutely favorite company that couldn't do wrong to koticks money spinner. And like everything owned by activivision the new games are not bad but lack the passion and polish of old. And lots of little annoyances make me feel dirty when playing them.

So i still played startcraft 2 but I skipped Diablo. I might give it a spin when it comes to the ps4 with an offline mode. (I didn't believe it would but latest rumors seem to indicate that)

It better be earth shattering, because blizzard has pretty effectively destroyed the loyalty customers were hanging on to by announcing Diablo PS3.

People who are upset a game is getting released on a console are idiots.

++

It's not like their game will suddenly become whatever "bad" they think a console game is. With the late, late announcement (never mind the actual release) it's also not like the console version did anything to inform the game that they bought.

What you got is what the Blizzard today is capable of. Be that good or ill, is all in the eye of the beholder.

Pretty positive this will be a game they have not sunk a ton of effort into. Say..... taking the SC2/D3 "engine", slapping a new shiny body/name on it and a few new models, then calling it something "groundbreaking". Or taking Activision's CoD game, slapping Starcraft pixels in it, and calling it Starcraft: Ghost.

In any case, ActiBlizzard will cut corners and try to put as little work into developing something new and will try to ride the laurels of its other IP's.

It amazes me how the second paragraph of this article makes 75% of the comments here seem silly, did anyone actually read?

"We've been working on a little something, different from our other games, and we're pleased to invite you to be the first to see it," the company wrote in its e-mailed note. "It's not a sequel, expansion or that rumored next-gen MMO, but it's something we're excited for you to get your hands on."

That paragraph makes someone of you think that the "something different" is WoW on Linux?

Anyway, whatever it is we'll be seeing it in stores in about 12 years.

I really hope it isn't Blizzard DotA. It's been in our eyes for so long and I just don't care. They are so late to the game with their spin on DotA that I can't see this being announced to anything but the sound of crickets. I understand their view on wanting to release a DotA clone, Blizzard's history is all about making their own product in a genre and making it far better than anything that's out on the market. I just don't see the MOBA genre being stagnant enough for them to make those kind of waves again.

I think there's a possibility this could be smart phone and/or tablet related. Is it me or are they making a lot of double entendres? We have a "little something" to show you. We want you to get your "hands on." Maybe I've read one two many Apple pre-announcements, but if they put a lot of thought into the wording and language of this, I'd say it points to a touch-based game of some kind.

There were two things mentioned in the second paragraph, "...a little something..." and "...get your hands on...". I'm guessing Blizzard is entering the world of mobile gaming space. Since they clearly state that its from any IP we've previously seen, seems to me like this is going to be a game made for iOS/Android devices or possibly the Vita. Angry Orcs?

I'm a Blizzard fan since way back. I even fire up D3 every other week or so (just for smacking stuff around, not to enjoy the story, the story, the story.. *smack*). But as every Blizz fan can attest, their idea of "in the near future" can easily mean 2 years or more. I'm drooling at the idea of a new product announcement, while tempering my drool with zen patience.

It amazes me how the second paragraph of this article makes 75% of the comments here seem silly, did anyone actually read?

"We've been working on a little something, different from our other games, and we're pleased to invite you to be the first to see it," the company wrote in its e-mailed note. "It's not a sequel, expansion or that rumored next-gen MMO, but it's something we're excited for you to get your hands on."

That paragraph makes someone of you think that the "something different" is WoW on Linux?

Anyway, whatever it is we'll be seeing it in stores in about 12 years.

those were my thoughts exactly. and i believe soon means "within the next decade" so soonish should mean sometime in the next 15-30 years the beta will be out

It better be earth shattering, because blizzard has pretty effectively destroyed the loyalty customers were hanging on to by announcing Diablo PS3.

People who are upset a game is getting released on a console are idiots.

No, its the fact that blizzard had abused "developer privledge" to override the most overwhelmingly demanded feedback from its communities in both world of warcraft and Diablo, with Diablo being hit the hardest because the game is a steaming pile of poo.

The community cried demanding offline play, and blizzard refused, stating the game was designed to be played multiplayer. Blizzard then releases offline play for PS3. Blizzard insists on a multiplayer experience, but continues to push back any feedback that actually promotes community growth, simple things as a chat lobby thats actually usable without wanting to shove your head into a glass pane multiple times.

They regularly state that multiple development paths have not driven the overall game design, when all signs point to console intentions. The fact that they have finally officially announced the console just underscores all of the accusations they deny. Activision has taken over, and if they don't pull their heads out of their asses, they are going to be the next War Z.

I don't think there's enough room for another ARTS (MOBA - hate this acronym) on the market in a competitive sense. Blizzard would have to compete on a "freemium" basis, something that they've never had to do, given that the three other major players (Dota2, HoN, LoL) are all free to play. Sure, they could dump a ton of money into this game in the form of tournament prizes, much like how Riot have bankrolled tournaments (And Valve to an extent - but it only extends to their own tournament), but I have my doubts that Blizzard would be willing to push it like this.

After the bitter taste that Diablo 3 left in my mouth and the partial disappointment of Starcraft 2, I have little faith in Blizzard's ability to execute in making a new ARTS that is competitive. They may be able to surpass HoN (which is by far the weakest of the ARTS's as far as player numbers go), but with a clear path of succession of Dota players -> Dota 2 and League having been on the market for over 3 years now, I doubt that they'd be able to do much better than a lame third leg.

I'm done with blizzard titles after the past couple steaming piles they've served up. They just don't make genre defining games anymore and other developers are better at rehashing old ideas with new twists.

Half of them are predicting it will be a sequel pro a port, which is clearly not the case if you actually read the fucking article

And the other half are talking about how crap diablo 3 is when, in my opinion, diablo 3 is one of the best two or three games ever created (far better than diablo 2 for example).

You might not like diablo 3, but it is indisputably an awesome game. No game is going to be universally liked, if you don't like it go play something else. Stop hating on it please. And stop asking for blizzard to make changes that you will like but other people (like me) will hate.

I don't think there's enough room for another ARTS (MOBA - hate this acronym) on the market in a competitive sense. Blizzard would have to compete on a "freemium" basis, something that they've never had to do, given that the three other major players (Dota2, HoN, LoL) are all free to play.

There is always enough room if you do a better job than at least one of the existing successful games.

Kyle Orland / Kyle is the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica, specializing in video game hardware and software. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He is based in Pittsburgh, PA.